HOPE exceeds Thanksgiving delivery goal

By David W. Shelton | November 25, 2007 |

This Thursday, the Hispanic Organization for Progress and Education (HOPE) delivered 31 complete thanksgiving dinners, exceeding their goal of 30. Local activists, ministries, and civic groups came together to support HOPE and other organizations that worked to bring meals to area families.

The group’s effort was propelled even more once Kang Tae Myong, owner of Sakura Japanese Restaurant, committed to include it in the list of three organizations that would be given a combined 60 turkeys. The restaurateur announced their donation during a Human Relations Commission meeting held on October 25th. Mr. Kang is also a member of the Clarksville Human Relations Commission as well as an adviser and former president of the Korean American Association.

Twenty of the turkeys were given to HOPE, with the other forty divided between the Salvation Army and Lighthouse Ministries. The turkeys were distributed at a special event at the restaurant on Monday, November 19th. The turkey-dispensing event was coordinated by the Clarksville Human Relations Commission, with City Mayor Johnny Piper on hand to help hand out the birds. «Read the rest of this article»

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Toy Shopping? Buy “Made in the U.S.A.”

By Christine Anne Piesyk | November 25, 2007 |

So you want to buy American as you check off that Christmas toy list? You can, though it may seem as if everything on the shelves was manufactured somewhere else. There are many American toy companies alive and thriving in the USA, including the Holgate Toy Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, which has been making children’s toys since the days of George Washington (actually, since 1789).

It never ceases to amaze me how the simplest toys last the longest, not just in terms of the immediate attention span but in the kind of activities enjoyed by generation up generation of children. As a child, wooden toys and “old-fashioned” button and block toys were favorites, some bought, some handmade. You can find them in independent toy stores, country stores, and specialty children stores; “Made in America” toys are hardest to find when you are shopping in the mass market box-style chain stores.

The Holgate company is one of the premiere American-based toy manufacturers; their craftsmen created the My First Block Wagon, a simple pull toy filled with building blocks — it’s a toy that several incarnations later comes in other sizes with ever more blocks. They created the Hickory Dickory Dock Clock, a variety of wooden stepping stools that is the wooden precursor to the plastic See and Say toy. Holgate makes myriad durable, colorful (and non-toxic) wooden toys. They also carry items such as cloth finger and walking puppets, and many infant and toddler toys as well as playthings for older children. «Read the rest of this article»

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Kindness: A choice from the heart

By Charles Moreland | November 25, 2007 |

John earned his daily bread repairing TVs and installing antennas in the small Missouri town of Dixon, population 1,200, near Fort Leonard Wood. His most outstanding characteristics were competency, dedication, caring and generosity. He was also known for his leadership, loquaciousness and communicative nature. His in-depth knowledge and understanding of spirituality endeared him to this Methodist Pastor.

On a quiet afternoon we sat in his office and workshop discussing many issues of the town, community, and nations. During this exchange he stated an idea that still resonates with me and to which I can still say “Amen.” Looking me in the eyes, he displayed his understanding of the teaching of religious leaders as he spoke.

“Pastor Charles,” he said, I believe the teachings of Jesus can be summarized in one brief sentence: ‘Be kind to each other.’” «Read the rest of this article»

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